Experts Tout Potatoes’ ‘Clear’ Nutritional Benefits

For decades, potatoes have been branded unhealthy and we have been advised to avoid consuming too many of them. But now, researchers say that consuming the popular tuber is actually good for you. In fact, they claim that you could eat potatoes, and nothing else, for the rest of your life and “remain pretty healthy.”

In a medical U-turn, scientists who reviewed a host of evidence are pushing for potatoes to be reassessed for their “clear” health benefits. In a 60-page report titled “Potato—A Basis for Human Nutrition and Health Benefits,” researchers have uncovered evidence that the crop could slash the risk of having a heart attack and may even protect against dementia.

“The studies we looked at found a whole raft of different benefits,” says Derek Stewart, a professor at the James Hutton Institute in Scotland and co-author of the report. “If you have to live the rest of your life on just one thing, you could do it on potatoes and remain pretty healthy. There are not many crops you can say that about. … Other research has found a strong association with enhanced cognitive function in the elderly if they’re eating potatoes.”